A Deafening Silence
by AnEarthlyKnight
Summary: Character Explanation Within. Deryn finally reveals to her best friend, Alek, that she is not the man he thought she was. Misconceptions, confusion and sadness all around, but also happy endings. Rated T because I'm paranoid. Non-beta'd.
1. A Deafening Silence

**Disclaimer: I do not own Leviathan, Scott Westerfeld, or any of the characters mentioned within. I did not make this for any type of profit.**

**AN:** Hello!

This little ditty has been sitting on my desktop for the past year or so, and I never really thought about posting it. I was trying to make a multi-chapter fic out of it, but lost interest after the first 2 or 3 chapters. Looking over it again, I decided it would make a pretty decent twoshot.

This was the child of a sudden burst of imagination, and I figured it would be fun if you guys let your imagination fill in the holes I've left due to lack of time and inspiration. It IS fanfiction after all!

ANYWAY, hope you enjoy whether you know the couple or not. __Please review, and I hope you enjoy!

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"I'm a girl!" The midshipman Deryn Sharp announced, closing her eyes in shame. She waited for a response, but in the silence that followed none came. She finally opened her eyes to be met with the wide green eyes of her best friend Alek, son of the late Archduke of Austria-Hungary. He seemed to be in shock, but Deryn wasn't surprised. She had been disguising herself as a boy for over a year now, and Alek was learning the truth for the first time.

"I beg your pardon?" Alek sputtered, polite as ever despite his surprise. He pushed his reddish brown hair through his fingers roughly, no doubt trying to get his mind in order.

"I'm a girl, Alek," Deryn repeated calmly, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her airman's uniform and standing as straight as a board, waiting for the storm that was sure to come. "I've been lying all this time, and I'm sorry. I'll never lie to you again."

Alek looked over Deryn's tall frame, and she let him. She knew he was looking for traces of femininity that he might have somehow missed over the past year, examining her chest, her lips, her hair, and her hips. Normally this type of analyzing made her squirm, but she was just glad that she didn't have to keep her gender a secret from him anymore. Besides, Deryn knew that he would find nothing; she was always very thorough with her secret and had lots of practice, a year's worth. If he did find anything it would only confirm what he now knew, and Deryn knew she'd never have a chance with him now, so she wasn't worried about him thinking her ugly. She looked past Alek's right shoulder at the grey leathery walls of the airship's hallway and waited for a response.

"But—but how!" Alek finally stammered, trying to regain his composure and failing. He was now staring at her, slightly horrified and slightly frazzled. _The news has him a wee bit scrambled in the attic,_ Deryn thought, slightly amused and slightly saddened. She had hoped he'd be more accepting and less horrified.

"It's not that complicated, you barking ninny!" Deryn said, raising her voice slightly and crossing her arms over her flat chest. Somewhere in her mind, Deryn felt bad for being harsh, but Alek wasn't asking intelligent questions and they didn't have much time. Alek missing for even a second never went unnoticed on the _Leviathan_. "I bind my chest, I wear baggy clothes, I cut my hair and I trained myself to talk and walk and act like a boy. What else is there?"

Alek was finally starting to piece things together in his mind, his composure returning. "So, if you're not a boy, Dylan…what is your real name, then?"

"It's Deryn. Deryn Sharp." She said, looking away from the pools of emerald fire that seemed to be burning through her carefully sculpted walls. She had always felt that being a girl made her weak and silly. Deryn waited for the questions and the anger to come flying at her, but Alek handled it surprisingly well.

"Well, Dyl—Deryn. Why didn't you tell me sooner? I've been nothing but perfectly bloody honest with you for months!"

Deryn thought about being completely honest, that she had hidden her gender from him because she thought he could never love her for being so barking common, but she kept herself in check, afraid it was too much for him to handle. _I'll tell him the real answer someday_, she reasoned, _in a calm, orderly fashion when I know he won't be around to judge me_. "Because I couldn't find the right opportunity," she said shortly, looking down at her scuffed black combat boots.

"You had plenty of opportunities. Why did you pick now? Why did it take you so long? I thought you were going to be honest with me now," Alek demanded, seeing through her weak lie easily.

"Every time I tried to tell you who I really was, my cowardice or one of your own bloody comments would make me hold back. I'm sorry it's taken me this long to tell you." Deryn replied, pleased with her somewhat honest response.

Alek looked at Deryn, examining her eyes carefully. _He really does have the most spectacular and intelligent eyes_, Deryn thought before quickly looking away in embarrassment. What was it about this bloke that made her weak in the knees, that made her forget her wits so willingly? Whatever it was, she refused to be a silly country lass mooning over Alek just because she was a girl.

"You're lying," he declared with vehemence.

"It's none of your business anyway," Deryn muttered self-consciously, hoping he'd just drop it. She looked up at him, daring him with her darting blue eyes to continue prying.

Alek eyed her cautiously, but said nothing more about it, continuing with his other questions. "Why did you disguise yourself?" He asked instead.

Deryn was relieved at the slight subject change, though she knew he wouldn't forget that she had lied. The answer to this, at least, she could tell easily and honestly. "They don't let lasses in the air force back in Britain. But I've always known that I wanted to fly, ever since I went up in Da's balloon when I was a wee little thing. The beasties fascinated me, and the prospect of flying was just too much to pass up, and when my father died I still wanted to make him proud. But I knew the only way to get what I wanted was to become a boy, so I've been Dylan ever since."

Alek stared at her wonderingly for a few seconds until he heard his name being called faintly. It was probably Count Volger or Master Klopp, Alek's mentors, calling Alek to help them with one of the _Leviathan_'s engines. "Well, Deryn, thank you for trusting me. See you in the morning." Alek said, suddenly stiff as he turned to walk away.

Deryn was shocked. After her big reveal, Alek made it seem like nothing, passing news that it hadn't taken her significant time and trust to tell him. Deryn couldn't just let him walk away. "Wait Alek," she called out softly. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

Alek turned back, looking her over again and saying nothing. His silence said everything she needed to know. It was worse than if he had shouted. He was furious, suspicious, maybe even a little hurt. But Deryn had to make him understand, _had_ to make him help her.

"Promise me," Deryn said, lowering her voice but refusing to beg. "If you don't, you could ruin everything I've done to get where I am, Alek. Don't do that to me."

He looked at her again, and she wondered why he was suddenly so distant and so…arrogant. "I won't tell anyone, _Miss_ Sharp," he said primly.

"Well, not by calling me that you won't," she interjected sharply, irritated by Alek's carelessness and princely air. "It's still _Mr._ Sharp, you bum-rag. You're doing a pretty piss-poor job at keeping my secret so far, Your Highness."

"Be careful how you talk around me, Dylan. Or should I say, Deryn?" Alek snapped back tauntingly. He looked over her, and his eyes suddenly went cold. Seeing that shot her through with hurt, for he hadn't looked at her like that since they'd first met and she'd tried to shoot him, but it was quickly over-road with rage. Deryn was getting pretty fed up with His Serene Highness' sauciness.

"Why are you being so barking rude? I thought we were friends, Alek." Deryn yelled, finally reaching her breaking point. She glared accusingly at his sharp handsome face, a good 3 meters down the hall, but now he wouldn't look at her.

"Friends don't lie to each other, Deryn! I want the whole truth before I decide what to think of you." Alek finally looked back up, and for the first time Deryn saw a cold, aristocratic edge there that she had seen in Volger, but never before in Alek. He was finally showing his arch-ducal roots, and she _hated_ it.

"You want to know the full truth, Alek? _Fine_," She spat, stalking over to him and looking him in the eyes, not afraid of the regal edge to his face and demeanor. She pulled her hands from her pockets and gestured with her hands, eyes flashing. "I pretended to be a boy to get where I wanted in life because stupid aristocrats like _you_ don't see the worth in women! I lied to every single person I cared about, including you, because I was trying to be the great airman my father was. You have no right to stand there and judge me! You can't have any idea how hard it was for me to be a constant liar and a fake and an imposter! I've worked harder than any other midshipman on this ship to keep up, to disguise my gender, and to watch every movement I make and every word I say so that I wouldn't be kicked out faster than I can say 'female'! And most of all, I lied to you even though I trust you because _I love you_. And I know that I'm as common as _dirt_ and that you'd have to run a mile to even be friends with me ever again, so I stuffed my dirty secret away inside! I tried to spare myself the disappointment of losing you, and I tried to spare myself the pain that your horrified expression and your cold shoulder would inflict on me! _Barking spiders_, _Alek_!"

Deryn couldn't look in Alek's eyes any longer. She had totally stripped herself emotionally naked right in front of the very person who could hurt her the most. She had done the thing she swore never to do, and all in a fit of rage from his displeasure, displeasure that she had expected. She was a complete _dummkopf_. She forced her wet eyelids to dry as she stepped away from Alek's gawking face and, not wanting him to think her any more of a ninny for nearly crying, turned on her heel and stalked back down the corridor with her head held high. Deryn vainly hoped Alek would call out, correct her, or say that he would run that mile to be with her. But she was mocked with silence.

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**AN:** So there you go! Please review! :) Thank you so so much for reading my fic! Love you all! xoxo

**EDIT:** Just wanted to take a chance to send a message to an anonymous commenter (who didn't even have a name posted):

Thank you for being my first anonymous hater! :D Now I know that I have become a true artist. I also know now how shitty it really feels to have trolls read your stories.

You know, I'd rather have someone say "Your writing skills are sending you straight to hell!" than what you said to me; it's not at all personal because they just sound silly. Yours was so much more than that. How is saying "Lame! Grow a spine or a pair or whatever; as long as this tragedy is avoided here on out" being nice to me? Please explain. Also, if you'd like to post some fanfiction I'd be all for reading it and reviewing!

So, you know, for the future? Please learn to phrase your critiques in a manner that isn't flat out insulting. Also, please do not read my fanfiction any more if you are going to be like this. Thank you!


	2. Break the Ice

**AN:** Hello best readers in the whole wide world! :D

All the lovely reviews I got last night for Chapter 1 made my heart swell to the size of an elephant :) I love you all, you know that? ;) Well, a huge THANK YOU SO MUCH and an I LOVE YOU to all the anonymous reviewers that I can't thank personally. YOU GUYS ROCK! :D

Just a note the the reviewer **_Anarchist:_** Deliverer of harsh truths, I salute you! Thank you for the note about my grammar. I, myself, am usually a huge grammar/spelling police. Thanks for catching the mistake, much appreciated! :)

Anyway, this chapter almost didn't get published cause I didn't think I'd get any interest, but it's also not the best thing I've ever written :P (blushes). Also, let it be known that one of my best friends is gay, and in this fic I do not mean to offend the homosexual community. It's just how things were back then, that homosexual people were not socially accepted is the sad truth. For it to be realistic, I had to follow that vibe. But I love you guys, truly :)

Also, a warning that the language in this chapter's a wee bit severe/crude/offensive. Apologies :P

Note, I wrote this fic as a fantasy of the best possible situation in my head. If things went perfectly in Goliath, this would happen...

Anyway, without further adieu, here's the follow-up chapter! Hope you like :)

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_Chapter 2: Break the Ice_

"Barking ninny—what did I expect—stupid blokes—good for nothing—complete _dummkopf_—what a complete mistake…" Deryn muttered to herself, shutting the door to her quarters silently as to not attract attention. She knew she was sulking, but she couldn't seem to shake her dreadful disappointed feelings. Despite what her mind thought of the matter, her heart had hoped for a better outcome against her will.

_Well, he asked for it_, she reasoned, _he wanted to know, and I told him exactly how I felt_. But despite how hard she tried to pin the blame on Alek, she knew it was really all her fault. She had lied the whole time; she had let them grow into close friends before releasing the strafing hawk that she was a girl, so to speak. It was her who had burst out the full, complete truth in a surge of rage, and now she had to pay for that.

Deryn started to put up her walls, closing in her punishment and any hope, relief and reality out. She tore her black leather jacket off and threw it onto the lightweight chair in the room, grabbing a glass and filling it with water. Her hands were shaking from anger and hurt, and water started dripping from her mouth down her chin to dampen the front of her white, standard-issue button up shirt. She sat in the chair, staring at the mirror on the opposite wall indifferently as she ran a hand through her short messy blond hair, changing her expression to a serious mask that no one could penetrate.

The next time she saw Alek was going to be torture, but she was a soldier and you could be damn sure she would take it like a man. She would bear his silent shudder, his angry eyes, getting kicked out of the Royal Air Service if he told her secret, living life in a dark underground cell, the epitome of a nightmare for an airman…

_It's barking useless_, Deryn thought despairingly as she watched her eyes tear up, redden, and spill silent, hot tears down her face, _there's no way I'll be able to keep up this face in front of the whole crew, least of all Alek_. She stood up, wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands roughly and took the glass to the sink, rinsing it and bracing her hands on the frail counter as she forced the tears back into her eyes, still shaking. Maybe she was a ninny at heart, but a little more lying on the outside wouldn't hurt anyone.

Just then she heard a soft knock on the door. _Great_, Deryn thought, _here comes the first officer to take me off to the brig_. She opened the door warily and was met with the narrowed eyes of Volger, Alek's fencing instructor. She glared back at the wildcount, not in the mood for his usual antics. If he was here to take her away, she would go with the dignity that her Da would have wanted her to have. "What do you want?" Deryn barked.

"I've been asked to come and retrieve you, Miss Sharp," Volger replied smoothly, emphasizing the 'miss'. _This is just too rich_, Deryn thought, cursing mentally, _why does it have to be __**him**__ taking me away_? When he had figured out her secret, one of a very few, Volger had blackmailed her into helping him escape the _Leviathan_. He was sneaky, clever, cruel but loyal, and Deryn didn't trust him one squick.

Deryn sighed, resigned. "Do I have time to pack anything to bring with me?" she asked, standing aside so Volger could enter her small quarters if he wanted.

"You won't be needing anything, not where you're going," Volger said, beckoning her out of her room. Deryn thought she noticed a spark of amusement flicker over the count's eyes as she grumbled her assent and stepped out into the airship's hallway, head held high.

"Lead the way, Count." Deryn said, slightly sarcastic in her annoyance and distress. Volger started walking down the hall and Deryn followed, preparing herself mentally for the shock of being demoted from midshipman to prisoner. _What a ruddy idiot_, Deryn thought, _Alek told me he'd keep my secret, and he goes straightaway to blab to Volger. He doesn't waste any time, the wanker._

Deryn wasn't quite sure where she should be expecting to go, but heading down a hall of staterooms and stopping at a seemingly random door was not what she expected. The Captain's office or straight to the brig perhaps, but not a regular room. But when Volger opened the door and stepped inside to reveal a room much like hers with Alek sitting in a chair in the middle of it, Deryn's legs nearly gave out. Only her very strict middy training kept her upright, stiff as a fabricated board.

Emotions were flying across her face and heart like Clanker zeppelins: shock, anger, sadness, fear, hurt, relief, guilt. Finally she got her feelings under control as Alek looked casually at Volger and said, in his new archducal voice, "That will be all, Count. Thank you."

Count Volger bowed to Alek, nodded curtly at Deryn and exited the room, closing the door with barely a whisper.

Alek glanced at Deryn, raising his eyebrows regally. "Hello, Miss Sharp. You left quite abruptly in the hall earlier. I thought it would be best to finish our conversation in private."

Deryn went pink in the cheeks, for his words brought her earlier embarrassment to the front of her mind. "I believe I said more than you asked for, so I have nothing to say Your Serene Highness," Deryn commented sarcastically, narrowing her eyes. She walked a bit farther into the room and sat in another lightweight chair, showing Alek that she didn't need him to tell her to sit despite his obvious regality.

Alek glanced at her and dropped the formal affixation. "I know, Deryn, and I thank you for all that you said. But you didn't let me respond or tell you how I felt about the situation at all, except that I was shocked and confused."

Deryn thought back to the conversation and realized that indeed she had jumped to her own conclusions before letting him voice his. But she thought it was obvious: he must have been horrified and he was sure to laugh at her silly confession. Why wouldn't he? "Alright, Your Highness, you're right. But I'm here now, and I'm sure I know what you're going to say, so you might as well say it, dammit. I'd like to get back to my chambers or to the brig, whichever His Highness commands."

"Please stop being so formal with me, Deryn. You're making this harder than it needs to be." Alek commented, clearly annoyed. _Good_, Deryn thought, _that makes two of us_.

"Depending on what you say, I probably won't be saying your name again, in any case. Unless you fancy visiting prisoners in the brig, that is."

"Would you stop being so dramatic and listen? You haven't a clue what I'm about to say, clearly."

Deryn was about to retort with another snarky comment, but was brought up short. He had a point; she _was_ being a bit dramatic. But her heart was breaking inside! How could he expect her to be civil and polite?

Before she could respond, Alek was talking, still sitting calmly with steeped fingers. With every word, Deryn's jaw dropped lower and lower. "I'm not mad at you, Deryn. I was shocked, clearly, but I was never angry. I know why you did it, and I had no right to demand that you should have trusted me sooner, though I wish you had. I acted mad to get an answer for why you hid the truth from me, and I got more than I bargained for and more than I deserved. I apologize. So about what happens now. Despite you being common, that never stopped us from being friends before. I don't think this changes anything, Deryn."

Deryn shook off her confusion, trying to wade through his words. Was he really saying that he was going to keep her secret? And that they could be friends? That was much better than she had hoped for. "How can you be so calm about this?" She questioned, getting up out of her chair and stalking around Alek's apartments.

"Because I'm afraid of getting worked up again and blowing my chance to make up my slight to you. You have to admit, I've had a shock" Alek replied, running his fingers through his hair and showing the first signs of nervousness since she arrived. Deryn nodded, still pacing the short living space, from the closed bedroom door, past the bathroom on the left and the kitchen on the right to the opposite wall.

"Deryn, if you keep pacing like that, you're going to run a groove down the middle of my carpet," Alek commented, amusement in his voice but also something else. Anxiety? _The Royal Archduke of Austria is losing his composure, _Deryn thought, half-amused.

Deryn laughed weakly and leaned against the kitchen counter, across from where Alek was sitting. She found that now she was the one with all the questions. "So, let me get this straight. You're not mad, _at all_?"

Alek cocked his head to the side, thinking through his response, and replied, "Well, I'm a bit frustrated that you kept it from me, but I do understand. Other than that, no. You can't help being a girl."

"Was that an insult?" Deryn said, immediately getting touchy on the subject of femininity. "Lilit was a completely capable female!"

At the mention of Lilit, a revolutionary girl from the Ottoman Empire who Alek and Deryn had met a few months ago, Alek smiled. Deryn, on the contrary, blushed at her choice of words. Lilit had surprised Deryn by stealing her first kiss, and it still made Deryn shudder in disgust and slight admiration. "So that explains why Lilit's crush scared you so much," he murmured to himself. "But no, I am most certainly not slighting you for your gender, Deryn. You're my best friend, and you've proved yourself more than capable of being an airman."

Deryn smiled inwardly at the prospect of still being Alek's best friend despite everything he now knew about her. _Maybe things are going to turn out better than my worst nightmares_, she thought.

Suddenly she remembered her confession (_of love, for God's sake_ she thought with an internal shudder), and decided it was time to leave before he brought up the regrettable fact that she had said she loved him. Hoping he had conveniently forgotten, she stood up. "Well, is that all?" Deryn said, walking towards the door.

"Not quite, Deryn. I still have one more thing to ask you."

With a feeling of dread, Deryn turned around slowly. She stared at Alek mutely as he smiled slightly and spoke softly, "What you said before in the hall, at the end... Did you mean it?"

Deryn walked slowly back to her chair, taking her time. She contemplated lying to him, saying she was just in the heat of the moment (which was true) and that she didn't actually love him (which was not). But she knew he'd see through her lie as he always did, and then she would make herself more of a ninny. _Might as well own up to your feelings and save some pride_, Deryn grumbled inwardly. In the strongest voice she could muster (but it still shook slightly regardless), Deryn drew herself straight in her chair, looked down at her clenched white-knuckled hands and replied, "I don't waste my breath on words I don't mean, Alek. May I leave now?"

Alek got out of his chair for the first time and stared down at the embarrassed and quiet Deryn, who was still staring intently at her knuckles. "No," Alek said quietly, standing toe to toe with the young woman.

Deryn stood up and finally looked at Alek to argue her case that she wasn't to be ordered around like one of his subjects, when Alek grabbed her hand. Deryn was shocked into silence, her physical response to his touch immediate. She noticed, all at once, just how close he was standing; the toe of his fancy new leather boots flush with her ratty old combat boots. She noticed idly how their footwear symbolized them perfectly; a noble and a commoner, a Clanker and a Darwinist, a girl and a boy, close together but always apart. She looked up into his eyes but found she couldn't hold his gaze. _What a perfect time to turn into a girlish ninny_, Deryn thought wildly as her heart lurched at the thought of being so close to him but knowing they could never be closer. Not for the first time, Deryn wished she could have been born into royalty, been a better person for Alek.

Deryn shook her head to clear it. What was she _thinking_? She didn't become a boy and lie to everyone to become a barking _poet_. She was a sensible, logical airman.

"If you don't mind, Deryn, I'd like to do some explaining," Alek murmured, stepping back slightly.

Deryn was shocked by the cold air that rushed in when Alek stepped away, still holding her wrist. She wasn't quite sure why at first, but finally some part of her brain supplied her with the answer: her heart was warming her. From that short encounter, just being that close to the only thing she wanted now, her body had completely reacted. But it definitely wasn't unpleasant. However, the cold she was now feeling as she slid back into reality and into herself was definitely unwelcome. She resisted the urge to rub her arms to warm herself, instead wondering what exactly Alek could need to explain to her.

"Look, Deryn. I know it's gonna be complicated, and I know it will never be easy, but I think…I think I want to try. Something with you, that is" Alek said simply, looking at the top of Deryn's blond head awkwardly.

_There's the Alek I know_, Deryn thought with relief. Despite her relief, Deryn still took a moment to comprehend what exactly Alek was offering, was asking for. "You want—you want... _me_?" she asked in a small voice, trying not to get her hopes up.

"But, of course, if it'd be too complicated or what have you, you can leave now. That's all I had left to say." Alek let go of her wrist and turned around, shoulders still tall and regal but stiff now, like he was trying not to slump them in defeat.

Deryn took that as a _yes_, he did want her. She gripped his shoulders strongly, turned him towards her in one rough spin, and pulled his mouth toward hers. She had no idea what she was doing, having never kissed a guy before (though she had kissed a girl…), but she just knew she was too happy to react any other way. Her eyes were shut, but she opened them slightly to measure his reaction. His face was so shocked and deer-in-the-headlights that she almost laughed, but she didn't want to pull away. She smiled slightly against his lips as she let her eyes fall closed again just as his expression softened, giving in to the moment.

At first, she had only intended to touch her lips to his in her own way of saying _yes_ she wanted to try, she wanted to be his, she wanted _him_, but Alek recovered from his shock to take over and deepen the kiss. She tentatively reached her hands out to grab the back of Alek's neck lightly, pulling him closer. Alek slipped his hands around Deryn's thin waist, clinging tightly to them in a way that made Deryn shiver pleasantly. She suspected her kissing was clumsy, but she hoped Alek wouldn't mind. It wasn't exactly magic, both of them being inexperienced, but it was more than enough for Deryn.

Alek pulled away slightly, still a bit shocked. "Was that a yes?" He answered, genuinely confused.

Deryn puckered her lips and stuck them out to the left, unimpressed, looking at Alek with one eyebrow raised. Then she laughed breathlessly. "We're going to have to work on unscrambling your attic, Mr. Archduke. That was more than a yes, that was more of an 'I thought you'd never ask'" she said, pulling his mouth back to hers.

Alek smiled, pulling her close, and for one brief second, all was right in the world. _More than right, __perfect__, _Deryn thought.

Then the doorknob turned sharply and the door was flung open. Deryn turned towards the door, horrified. How this would look to an outsider, a midshipman and a male prisoner snogging in a stateroom, Deryn didn't even want to gander. Alek dropped his arms quickly; his mouth a wide 'O', and Deryn fell to the floor, her legs no more co-operative than fabricated whale blubber as an after affect of kissing Alek (which she had dreamed about for months).

Luckily, it was only Volger, one of the only people who knew about Deryn. "Good God man, can't you knock?" Alek thundered, pulling Deryn to her feet gently as she busied herself brushing dirt off her middy uniform, hiding her burning face. Was there anything this damn man didn't know? _Anything _that he couldn't hold against her?

Volger bowed slightly, amused at the state he had discovered the young couple in. "I apologize, Alek, but I just thought I'd come to warn you that Bauer and Klopp are coming to speak with you about the engines. I do believe they called for you some time ago."

Alek rubbed his temples, and Deryn cursed quietly. She went about straightening her clothes, which had been ruffled at the waist from Alek's hands. Alek turned to the wildcount with a nod, "Thank you, Count. Can you wait out in the hall for a second?"

"Certainly. Good day Sir, _Miss Sharp_," Volger said, with a bow of his head to each of them. He sauntered over to the door and pulled it open and shut quietly.

"You Clankers have got to stop calling me Miss Sharp," Deryn grumbled, "Someone else is gonna hear it someday."

"Well, you couldn't exactly expect him to call you Mr. Sharp, could you? After he saw what we were doing?" Alek replied, amused but still slightly angry that their precious moment was up.

"This is true," Deryn admitted, unsure how to proceed. An awkward silence was falling over the pair, neither quite sure what to do anymore.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around, Mr. Sharp?" Alek said, unsure and awkward. He grumbled something in Clanker under his breath that Deryn translated to _I'll never get used to this_.

"Yep," Deryn replied shortly, stepping toward the door. Her hand was on the doorknob when Alek spoke ruefully. "Okay, can we try that again? That goodbye was terrible."

Deryn laughed, glad it wasn't just her who was mentally cringing from the sudden awkwardness. "We're barking ninnies, you know that?"

She walked back to where Alek was standing, wrapping her arms lazily around his shoulders again. "Of course we are," Alek murmured, bending down to kiss Deryn lightly. She kissed him back for a moment (noting with pleasure that she wasn't _as_ fumbly or unsure anymore), unwilling to leave, but finally pulled away smiling.

"Goodbye, Alek." She whispered against his ear, placing a small kiss on his cheek before turning away and walking across the room. She wondered idly when she became so girly and mushy, but pushed the thought away for another time.

Deryn turned back when her hand wrapped around the cold metal door handle, taking a final look at Alek as she prepared to leave the best moment of her life behind. Alek was slightly turned towards her, hands in the pockets of his brown cotton pants. "Bye, Deryn" Alek whispered back.

She smiled, turning the handle on the door and walked out of the stateroom completely content.

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**AN:** So that's it for this fic folks! :) Thanks for reading and I hope you liked!

Review and Alek will show up at your house with cookies! ;) Love you all!


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